NASHVILLE (AP) — Documents released in a sealed court case involving the father of Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon show that a Nashville judge has appointed a lawyer to investigate what's going on with her father.

Earlier this month, Witherspoon's mother accused her father of bigamy and possibly having dementia. Betty Witherspoon said her husband of 42 years married another woman even though she remained married to him.

The mother said in court documents that she discovered that her husband married the other woman after reading a newspaper wedding announcement. She signed an affidavit saying that when she confronted her 70-year-old husband, John Witherspoon didn't know who the woman was or remember marrying her.

Documents indicate the father was placed in a conservatorship at the request of Reese Witherspoon and her brother.